The Ultimate Guide to a Survival Knife

A good field knife, aka a survival knife, is an absolute must have for preppers. A good survival knife is a tool, a weapon, and indisposable. A pocket knife is not a survival knife, though, although very handy a pocket knife cannot do the same tasks a fixed blade survival knife can do. A good field knife can,

Dig a hole

Pry

Cut thick brush

Carve spears

Light Hammering

Be turned into a spear

This is only a partial list of what a survival knife can do, a total list would take an entire page to list, if not more. A good field knife does require a few features to ensure it meets the proper criteria as a field knife.

A survival knife should have a blade of at least 4 inches, but 5 to 7 inches is more opportune. A nice blade should be made of a high-quality metal like AUS 8, 440 C, D2, CPM M4, and ATS-34. Any of these metals will serve you well. This is a short list of some quality metals and is not all inclusive.
A good knife should have a full tang. A full tang is a reference to the fact the blade and the handle of one piece of metal. When metal is only a single piece, it is much stronger. Of course, the handle be wrapped in leather, or outfitted with grips.

One safety feature to consider is the presence of a handguard. A handguard is not a necessity, but for safety reasons is invaluable. When working with a knife your hands are going to get sweaty, and sweaty hands tend to slide up and down a knife handle. A handguard can prevent your hand from slipping and running across the blade. A good survival knife is an absolute necessity, and if you follow these simple guidelines you’ll have a worthy knife.